


A violin, a ghost and Angelo

by Braxdovah



Category: Vampire: The Masquerade, White Wolf
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23778718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braxdovah/pseuds/Braxdovah
Summary: There are some lines even ghosts shouldn’t cross
Relationships: Valerius/Ferrucio, Valerius/Valentina





	A violin, a ghost and Angelo

At roughly 10pm PST, 12am in Austin, Ferrucio will at last cave in and make the call to Valerius, utterly unable to stand the quiet and solitude in the house anymore.  
Whenever it is answered, Ferrucio will blurt out:  
“B-buona sera, mio fratello...” 

“Shh, listen.” The voice is Roman but the reason is very quickly clear. Valerius is playing, toying with the violin, possibly even composing. The video to the phone is tapped on and Ferrucio can see Valerius relaxed, calm, nearly serene. He does not appear aware that he has an audience. The female ghost drifts into the area behind Val, and a string snaps, catching him across the cheek. With the benefit of her standing just in Val’s shadow, Ferrucio can tell she and Val are siblings with an uncanny resemblance, but that is something that happens in the family. Roman rises, setting the phone propped up as he crosses to Val’s other side. 

For the few minutes he gets to enjoy watching Val toy with the violin, Ferrucio is clearly delighted with the sight. For the duration, it's clear that seeing his brother in that state starts to lift whatever dark mood has overtaken him even just a bit.  
But when the ghost snaps the string, a short sharp gasp and a vulgar curse aimed at the woman escapes him, the video on his end shaking slightly as he clenches the phone hard. 

Valerius freezes when the sharp metal grazes his cheek. He looks around, cracking his neck as he hands the instrument off to Roman.  
She speaks “The fact you would even consider playing for a ghoul. You were only--” 

"He plays for whomever he pleases - he's not beholden to you," Ferrucio will snarl, his tone quite clearly indicating that he's not quite considering on the fact that he's on the phone, just focused on his target. "He never was and he never will be. Now run away or I'll be there soon and make your existence more hellish than it is..."  
With that said, he seems to come back to himself before he looks to Val once more, focusing on him with a sheepish smile.  
“... Didn't know you played.” 

Val just shakes his head at the phone. “I enjoy it.” The ghost nearly screeches in anger, looking at the phone uncomprehendingly before manifesting fully once more. “Considering he is my twin, my other half, I have more rights to him than some glowing thing.” Valerius sighs in annoyance. “Stop, now. He is a necromancer, you are a ghost. And if he decides to bind you, I -”  
“You fucked him?! That is why you would let him speak to me like that!” 

“He doesn't control what I say or do, missy,” Ferrucio scowls for a moment before he looks back to Val fully.  
“I... Roman answered the call and I guess he figured I could use the music. Perceptive guy. I'm sorry that someone decided to ruin the moment.” 

Roman smiles slightly before returning his gaze to Valentina. “House will have informed Master Angelo that you attempted to harm his son. Leave.” Her stance shifts, and she traces a finger over the mark on his cheek. “Wǒmen shānghài yīgè wǒmen de ài.” She fades back across the shroud and retreats deeper into the house. 

Ferrucio will remain quiet for a few moments, watching the exchange quite intently despite not knowing a word of Chinese.  
“... I'd make an off color joke right now but I'm not sure how it would go over...” He mutters. 

Val scowls at the wall for a moment. “Poorly, but only because I do not want to be restringing my violin at the moment.” He picks up the phone and sprawls across the couch. “You wished to speak with me?” 

“Yeah...” Ferrucio’s smile is sheepish, and from the angle of the phone, Val can see that Ferrucio is sitting on the edge of his bed. He looks tired and drawn, more so than usual. “This is going to sound clingy and ridiculous but... I'm having a shit night, this place is too big and too quiet and I needed to hear someone's voice.”  
There's an emphasis to someone, however subtle and faint, as if to indicate it's a substitute for the word ‘your’. 

Val pauses and studies Ferrucio intently through the phone. “Roman, clear my night.” The ghoul leaves, gently locking the door behind him. “What troubles you?” His tone is gentle and inviting. 

Ferrucio will sigh, shifting slightly so that he can lay down on his side, the phone angled so that he can still see Valerius and be seen by him. His expression is, for a moment, almost painfully human as he struggles for words, then relents.  
"... I haven't been right in my own head since we took on the Neverborn," He admits quietly. "I encountered an old... acquaintance, we'll call her, during all of that. I always dream about her... and about what I did... around this time of year. It tried to use my regrets about the circumstances surrounding us parting ways against me... and nevermind that Vinny and I dealt with it, it hit every right fucking note and so did she even if she didn't mean to, in order to fuck me up." 

Valerius nods, and carries the phone over as he pours himself a glass of moonshine. “You just met Valentina. So I don’t have room to judge you. Tell me about it if you wish, Ài.” The slip in language occurs easily as if he isn’t thinking about it. “Regrets need to be aired. Otherwise, they become worse.” 

Ferrucio’s eyes will follow Val’s movements on the screen, gazing questioning for a moment at what his brother pours for himself.  
"I always thought you were a rum guy..." he remarks offhandedly, falling quiet for a moment as he watches his brother, trying to get his thoughts together.  
“... I was stupid and nineteen, she was stupid and nineteen, and it was Paris, so we did what stupid nineteen year olds in Paris do... And everything went wrong when she told me." The words come forth reluctantly at first - clearly an old wound he's not keen to touch, too recently raw and reopened. "... I thought... Christ, Val, all these years I'd thought I'd killed her there... The reality was so much worse of course..."  
He sighs, sitting up and moving the phone with him as he moves towards the small liquor cabinet he keeps in his room, clearly seeking anything to take the edge off.  
"I left Paris behind when I graduated. I got married and I tried to forget - it wasn't that fucking hard, Concettina was a cunt... But she waited for me. Looked for me across all these fucking decades just to talk to me again and what the fuck am I supposed to do with that!?" 

Val sighs and drains the glass, pouring a second. “Pure blood-laced moonshine. It is for when I need to completely relax. Why? Why kill her?” The question takes him a moment. “Because that is what all Giovanni men do… betray the ones they love, traitor.” The ghost’s voice is audible despite the fact that she cannot be seen. “Not fucking now, I have no patience for your babble.” He turns and addresses the camera directly “When you were mortal, I assume…” 

"I didn't intend to hurt her... Shit just went ... Badly," His excuse sounds weak, even to him, and he'll lower the phone for a moment as he tries to find the words, trying his best to simply ignore Valentina as well. 

"It was a perfect fucked up storm... I'd been fighting with the family over getting married... I was reeling from some unfortunate and overwhelming encounters in the catacombs of Paris... She told me and didn't take my shocked response well... When she slapped me I just... Snapped."  
His tone of voice is genuinely remorseful, and it's clear that he's not in the slightest proud of the moment.  
"When I came back to my senses I panicked and ran. What else could I do? I didn't think she was going to survive..."

“She lived through it and now is haunting you? Or did the neverborn drag her wraith into it?” Valerius sounds worried. “I understand at least in part your issue.” As Val paces, Valentina can be seen watching him with a mix of horror and grief, shocked into silence. “You lost control, but these moments happen.” The ghost behind him touches the bruises on her throat, trembling. 

"She didn't die that night," He swallows softly, his gaze settled on Val, though he'll follow Valentina's movements. It's clear, however, that his brother's understanding is doing wonders to at least calm his anxieties about the subject.  
"Suicide a few months later. Far as I can see, the Neverborn drew her there... And used her to draw me in... She asked for me by name, after all, to the folks who poked their nose into the problem..."

Valentina's expression softens and she looks ashamed. “She loves you. She has to feel strongly about you to have stayed for so long without being part of the Family.” Valerius turns just slightly and she sidles backward. “Where is her wraith now?” He seems to be contemplating. 

“... I don't know,” He admits, at last making his decision from the bar and eschewing a glass entirely to take up a bottle of Jack Daniels. He's clearly more interested in the ritual of drinking than the effects of alcohol.  
“She told me she knew what I'd become. She kissed my cheek. It... I don't know. There was no closure, nothing. I haven't tried to summon her or find her again yet, and fucked if I know what I'd do even if I did... I don't even know how to love her, or if I ever did... Love and I have never exactly been friendly.” 

Valerius nods and pours another glass of moonshine. “If you decide to summon her, I will be there if you want.” The ghost slips up behind Valerius, her hands slipping up under his arms. “Vale, let me have a moment to talk with him. Wǒ huì gēnzhe nǐ gào shàng fǎtíng, rúguǒ nǐ bù zhèyàng zuò.” “She wishes to impart more feminine perspective.” 

Ferrucio will take a long pull from the bottle, considering the words of the odd pair before him on the screen.  
"... I'd welcome you being there, mio fratello, if I ever do it," He'll pause, gazing at the ghost for a moment or two before nodding.  
"... Sure - I'd welcome it. Janet wasn't exactly... helpful, let's say."

“Since you desire, brother.” Valerius hands her the phone and steps back. She ushers him further off. “Let’s talk privately. Valerius can have trouble understanding matters of the heart.” She deactivates the video after a moment of pouting at the screen. This close there is no denying that the two are mirror images, though her skin is far darker. 

Ferrucio will take another pull from the bottle, gaze reflecting faint fascination at the realization that the woman is, very likely, Valerius’ twin. It takes him several long moments before he speaks.  
“I... I'm not very good at understanding them either...” He admits softly. 

She settles in and sighs. “Let me guess she told you she was pregnant? Talk to her, I am sure you can convince her. Better her love than trusting my traitorous brother. Valerius is not going to be able to truly care for you. He is a monster that only loves himself. He found out about our children and killed them, and after I found out he killed me before I could tell Angelo.” 

Ferrucio will nod numbly at first as she speaks, acknowledging that her question about what happened between he and Margot did happen when she told him about carrying his child. But his expression will change to one of confusion, at the strange advice and the turn of the conversation.  
"... I... What?" He'll shake his head, as if trying to deny it. "I don't... She's dead, and... He doesn't think that way about me, I know, and that's..."  
But his voice will trail off after a moment as the room's light glimmers momentarily off the blue stone in the ring he still wears, and his expression clearly indicates that he's been somewhat knocked for a loop.  
“I... Don't know what to do with any of this...” 

The door crashes inward and in the ghost’s panicked fumbling the video reactivates. “Girl, you know what you did.” Angelo snatches her by an arm, punctuating his sentence with a ringing open palm slap. “Pare! What is going on?” Val cannot be seen but is heard coming back into the room. She sobs and tries to pull away. “Pare, I-” “Never speak those lies about my son again.” The second slap echoes. “Pare!” Valerius sounds a bit panicked and off kilter. “You ungrateful traitorous brat.” The third slap knocks her to the ground and Angelo picks up the phone. “Here talk to Ferrucio, we will speak later.” Val looks concerned but numbly takes the phone. “Hello again.”

At the sight and sound of Angelo, Ferrucio's eyes widen and he very nearly drops the phone in surprise. He'll watch the exchange in stunned silence.  
When Val comes back, Ferrucio will finish another long drink from the bottle, clearly dissatisfied with the fact that it won't get him anywhere near drunk in the long run, before speaking again.  
"... Never a dull moment, right?" There isn't much mirth to his words, but it's clear he's making an attempt to bring some levity to the painful and awkward situation both of them find themselves in. 

“Mix some blood in if you have it on hand. I will ship you something decent tomorrow evening.” Val appears to want to ask something desperately. “I am sorry if she upset you. Her tongue was always sharp.”

“Hey that's an idea...” He'll sigh softly, rising and making his way through the quiet house. From what bits of it Valerius can see as he goes, it's a fairly nice place - well decorated and furnished.  
“... She threw me for a loop, I'll be fine. She sure as fuck gave me a little revelation to digest at least...” He'll pause partway down a staircase, mustering up a smile at him.  
“Cat got your tongue, fratellone?” 

“What did she say?” The words fall off of his lips and he looks shocked. “You don’t have to tell me, just for Pare to react like that it must have been something.” He seems to be processing what occurred. “What a pair we make, both bound to our cities when it would be better if we were together.”

His expression will waver for a moment, clearly conflicted, as he starts moving again. It will take him the duration of walking downstairs to retrieve what is ostensibly blood preserved through some means from a well secured storage unit off of the kitchen area, and until he makes it partway to the stairs again before he speaks.  
“... Sounded like a bunch of lies,” He replies quietly. “Nasty lies at that. Played on my emotions, trying to turn me against you.”  
He'll reach the stairs again before he finishes.  
“... I've never missed being near someone so much as you, you know that?” 

Val smiles at the final words, before it falls slightly. “Come visit me soon. Or I could come to you.” His brow furrows. “I want to ask but I realize I shouldn’t. If you have questions, I will answer for you. It is something I owe my brother, much less my lover.” He starts to pour another drink but instead he drinks from the bottle.

Ferrucio will smile before he quite realizes it at the sentiment between them, the first genuine smile he's given Val all evening.  
“I'd love you seeing you again, either way... You'd like Los Angeles. It's a little chaotic sometimes but it's a good time...” He'll pause, thinking for a moment.  
“Questions about her, you mean? I'm not going to pry, Val. That's something for you to talk about in your own time, if ever... But seeing our father react that way tells me that what she said was bullshit and that you shouldn't trouble yourself with it. It isn't worth your time to worry over.” 

Valerius nods and takes another drink from the bottle. “I did kill her, you deserve to know that much. And I would do it again, I don’t regret it.” 

“... I'm sure you had your reasons,” He'll respond, as he returns to his bedroom at last. The phone will be set aside for a moment as he sets to mixing what blood he retrieved into the bottle of whiskey. “I can't say I know all the details but I can accept that... And it doesn't upset me to know.” 

Val lays back down on the couch and Roman wanders in fetching a second bottle. The ghoul sits on the floor by Val’s shoulder just barely in sight of the camera. “You told me yours, I can tell you mine. We had been married just a month earlier. She came to me and asked me to help her elope with a Settite. Stupid whore didn’t know what he was.” He takes another drink, words slurring. 

Ferrucio will take a long pull from the bottle once properly mixed, and utter a soft sigh of relief at the taste and burn from the liquor. He'll set it aside and after a moment’s pause, reach back to tug the tie that holds his hair pulled back, letting it fall loose and free.  
“... Sad to say it sounds like she got what was coming,” He sighs softly. “We can only get away with so much - and that's... Kind of beyond unforgivable. Fucking one, maybe - eloping with one...” 

“We were mortal, both of us. It is why they shipped me off to Venice.”

“I'm sorry that it went that way - I recall you mentioning you're not fond of Venice.” He'll set the bottle on the night stand before he settles back to relax, moving the phone with him. 

Val stares off at something Ferrucio cannot glean for a moment before speaking. “Not really, too many ‘elders’ sitting around and playing the Family off of one another. Granted, Pare was exiled at the time. It didn’t make a good first impression.” 

Ferrucio won't question what Valerius is looking at, his blue eyes settling on what little sight of Roman is visible for a moment before he looks back to his brother.  
“It made for some interesting memories growing up... But I can't say I'd enjoy going back now. And definitely not under those circumstances.”

“I had considered visiting recently but why? The Family here is what matters. The Spectres are the leadership we need. Not some fuck that hasn’t stepped outside his villa in a century.” Valerius shrugs. “But they don’t like to hear the truth. It makes them fear me more than my skin does.” 

Ferrucio will nod at his words, clearly in agreement.  
"I grew up there but... there's really nothing there for me now but pain in the ass detached Elders who have no idea what the fuck is really going on," He admits. "Besides... I'd kinda hate to see what they would think of me now that I've changed the way I have... And I've got all the family I need stateside." 

“I find it to be very appealing. Forget them, you have the line, you have Pare. You even have me.” A slow smile grows as Val speaks, the fondness in his tone clearly more than the liquor. 

Ferrucio's smile will return at that - the sort of smile that indicates that if he were still mortal, he might blush a little. He'll shift position so that he can more easily recline while talking to his brother, but still be able to take nips from the bottle.  
"The Specters, Pare, and you are all that I'll ever need... though maybe I'm happiest right now about that last bit." 

Roman glances up and smirks. “Good, treat him right.” It is unclear who he means and Valerius laughs. “You are pretty, but don’t get lippy.” “No, I want necromancy lessons. Why would I mouth off?” 

“I don’t know... it’s kinda funny to hear him mouth off,” Ferrucio chuckles. “He does irreverence right... wish I had someone who knew me half as well on my staff.” 

Valerius eyes Ferrucio through the phone. “If you like him so much, then you should teach him.” Val seems to be testing something if the set of his lips is to be trusted. 

There’s a faint scowl from Ferrucio for a moment, and there’s an audible tapping sound of his finger against the bottle.  
“Necromancy lessons for Roman, huh...” Ferrucio seems to be weighing it over. “... I’m not an easy teacher to please, but...” 

Val looks at Roman. “Why learn the Arts now?” “She tried to attack you.” Roman slinks onto Val’s lap. “If you teach me, I can at least shoo her off.” The ghoul curls up and twists, exposing his throat, a pale series of silver white lines there. 

"You know," Ferrucio will take another swig from the bottle. "He's got a point there... I'm on board if you are, but I don't do long distance lessons."  
His eyes remain settled on Roman as he speaks, taking in little details. “So either he's stuck coming to LA for a little while, or I'll be doing a lot of traveling back and forth to Austin - can't say I'm complaining about either prospect.” 

“When are you coming to see me next?” Val leans in and bites Roman, locking eyes with Ferrucio as he drinks. The ghoul is silenced as he squirms. Val’s hand landing habitually on his mouth. 

Whether it's motivated by emotion or the rapid fire shots of alcohol, Ferrucio's eyes will flicker with a faint hint of what could be jealousy. But it's there and gone in a heartbeat.  
"... I want to come back soon," He sets the bottle aside. "I'm just... In the middle of shit that I wish didn't require my attentions, and supposedly Isidora and Isabella are coming to visit me at some point... But all I really wanna do is come back."

When Val stops, his eyes have glazed slightly. “Rossenilini? Give them my regards. I know the pressure being Don never ceases. You need a good Consigliere. Make it easier when you have other obligations.” 

“Yeah, Rosselini. And I would take one but... My choices are kind of limited right now, to Vinny and Antony,” He shrugs, his eyes remaining fixed on Val’s, though it’s curiosity that they reflect now. “It’s been a lot of work fixing the shit Annamarie left us in, not that I’m complaining about fixing shit, but with them being my only choices right now... I don’t know how feasible a Consigliere is going to be just yet.” 

“Vinny is a solid Capo. Provided he knows the parameters. I don’t know your boy well. I should change that. Do you want Carmina?” Val laughs amused at his own joke. “No, I couldn’t do that to you, I love you.” 

Ferrucio will laugh softly, his expression softening for a moment at the last three words.  
“... How do you do this to me...?” He murmurs, unable to keep the slight smile from gracing his features. “Less than six months ago I was terrified of you... Now you're the only person I can stand, and even enjoy, hearing those words from...” 

Val’s expression softens and he looks far younger than anyone that has killed as much as he has should. “Love is the only force in this world that comes even remotely close to the power of death.” 

"... I've never understood it, you know," He sighs softly, shifting position in such a way that it becomes slightly obvious that he's drawn his knees up to his chest. His eyes won't leave Val, studying his features in that moment. "Love, I mean. Loyalty, yeah, but love... I don't even think I ever loved my parents... Then you came along and that word isn't so frightening anymore."


End file.
